{"id":25646,"date":"2026-05-07T13:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/25646\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:29:12","slug":"rubio-meets-with-pope-leo-after-trumps-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/25646\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio meets with Pope Leo after Trump’s criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

VATICAN CITY (AP) \u2014 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday to underscore strong bilateral ties, after U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s broadsides against Pope Leo XIV<\/a> for his opposition to the Iran war<\/a> angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between them.<\/p>\n

The U.S. State Department said that the meetings with Leo and the Vatican\u2019s top diplomat covered peace in the Middle East and \u201cunderscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See,\u201d and reflected the \u201cenduring partnership\u201d between them.<\/p>\n

Rubio, a practicing Catholic, had an audience first with Leo, which was complicated at the last minute by Trump\u2019s latest criticism of the Chicago-born pope<\/a>. Leo has pushed back, calling out Trump\u2019s misrepresentations of his views on Iran and nuclear weapons, and insisting that he\u2019s merely preaching the biblical message of peace.<\/p>\n

During a 2\u00bd-hour visit, Rubio then met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who on the eve of his visit had strongly defended Leo and criticized Trump\u2019s attacks in understated diplomatic terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttacking him like that or criticizing what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least,\u201d Parolin said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

After the meetings, the U.S. State Department said that Rubio and Parolin discussed \u201congoing humanitarian efforts in the Western Hemisphere and efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East. The discussion reflected the enduring partnership between the United States and the Holy See in advancing religious freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a separate statement about the audience with Leo, U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that the two discussed the situation in the Middle East \u201cand topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere. The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Vatican didn\u2019t immediately comment on the audiences.<\/p>\n

Rubio also has meetings Friday with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Those meetings might not be much easier for Washington\u2019s top diplomat, given both have strongly defended Leo against Trump\u2019s attacks and have criticized the Iran war as illegal \u2014 drawing the president\u2019s ire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rubio insisted this week that the visit had been in the works for a while, but that \u201cobviously we had some stuff that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"US<\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch upon hi arrival at Rome\u2019s Ciampino airport for a two-day visit to Italy and the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini, Pool)<\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch upon hi arrival at Rome\u2019s Ciampino airport for a two-day visit to Italy and the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini, Pool)<\/p>\n

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A mission to smooth ties<\/p>\n

The tensions began when Trump lashed out at Leo on social media last month, saying the pope was soft on crime and terrorism for comments about the administration\u2019s immigration policies and deportations as well as the Iran war. Leo then said that God doesn\u2019t listen to the prayers of those who wage war. <\/p>\n

Later, Trump posted a social media image appearing to liken himself to Jesus Christ, which was deleted after a backlash. He has refused to apologize<\/a> to Leo and has sought to explain away the post by saying that he thought the image was a representation of him as a doctor.<\/p>\n

Rubio said that Trump\u2019s recent criticisms of Leo were rooted in his opposition to Iran potentially obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he said could be used against millions of Catholics and other Christians.<\/p>\n

\"Secretary<\/p>\n

\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves the room after speaking to the media in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)\n <\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves the room after speaking to the media in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/p>\n

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\"Pope<\/p>\n

\n Pope Leo XIV arrives at the swearing in ceremony for 28 new Pontifical Swiss Guards in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini)\n <\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the swearing in ceremony for 28 new Pontifical Swiss Guards in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini)<\/p>\n

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Leo has never said Iran should obtain nuclear weapons and that the Catholic Church \u201cfor years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,\u201d Leo said late Tuesday, after Trump again accused him of being \u201cOK\u201d with Iran having a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n

By Thursday, tensions seemed to have eased. <\/p>\n

In the exchange of gifts at the Vatican, Rubio presented Leo with a small crystal football paperweight. He acknowledged Leo\u2019s known allegiance to the Chicago White Sox, saying \u201cyou\u2019re a baseball guy, but it has the seal of the State Department,\u201d on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat to get someone who has everything?\u201d he joked as he picked the paperweight up.<\/p>\n

Leo, for his part, gave Rubio a pen apparently made of olive wood \u2014 \u201colive being of course the plant of peace,\u201d Leo said \u2014 with his coat of arms on it and a picture book of Vatican artworks.<\/p>\n

Rubio has often been called on to tone down or explain Trump\u2019s harsh rhetoric<\/a>. Trump also has criticized Meloni and other NATO allies<\/a> for a lack of support for the Iran war, recently announcing plans to withdraw thousands of American troops from Germany<\/a> in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Vatican seen as willing to have dialogue<\/p>\n

Giampiero Gramaglia, former head of the ANSA news agency and its onetime Washington correspondent, said that he didn\u2019t expect much to come out of Rubio\u2019s visit for Italian or Vatican relations. He, and other Italian commentators, believe Rubio instead was looking to smooth over relations with the pope for his own political ambitions, as well as the upcoming midterm U.S. congressional elections and 2028 presidential race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI doubt Rubio has the role of conciliator for Trump,\u201d he told Italy\u2019s Foreign Press Association. \u201cI have the perception that Rubio\u2019s mission is more about himself\u201d and his political ambitions as a prominent Catholic Republican.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary in the Vatican\u2019s culture office, said that Rubio\u2019s mission wasn\u2019t to \u201cconvert\u201d the pope to Trump\u2019s side. Rather, Washington \u201chas come to acknowledge \u2014 implicitly but legibly \u2014 that (Leo\u2019s) voice carries weight in the world that cannot simply be dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation created by President Trump\u2019s remarks required a high-level, direct intervention, conducted in the proper language of diplomacy: a semantic corrective to a narrative of frontal conflict with the church,\u201d he wrote in an essay this week.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"US<\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Wife Jeannette arrive at Rome\u2019s Ciampino airport for a two-day visit to Italy and the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini, Pool)<\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Wife Jeannette arrive at Rome\u2019s Ciampino airport for a two-day visit to Italy and the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini, Pool)<\/p>\n

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Cuba is also on the agenda<\/p>\n

Rubio said that topics other than the Iran war were on the agenda for the Vatican visit, including Cuba. The Holy See is particularly concerned about the Trump administration\u2019s threats of potential military action<\/a> there following its January ouster of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n

Trump has said frequently that Cuba could be \u201cnext,\u201d and even suggested that once the Iran war is over, naval assets deployed in the Middle East could return to the United States by way of Cuba<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants and a longtime Cuba hawk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave Cuba $6 million of humanitarian aid, but obviously they won\u2019t let us distribute it,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWe distributed it through the church. We\u2019d like to do more.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Matthew Lee, the AP\u2019s diplomatic writer, reported from Washington.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VATICAN CITY (AP) \u2014 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[15707,4827,1277,38,50,3394,8,597,19,103,96,7899,139,15708,246,9,1066,1001,67,2057,969,15706,7,1663,54,100,2056,226,69,106],"class_list":{"0":"post-25646","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-antonio-spadaro","9":"tag-antonio-tajani","10":"tag-catholic-church","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-general-news","13":"tag-giorgia-meloni","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-international-agreements","16":"tag-iran","17":"tag-iran-government","18":"tag-iran-war","19":"tag-italy-government","20":"tag-marco-rubio","21":"tag-matthew-lee","22":"tag-middle-east","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-nicolas-maduro","25":"tag-pietro-parolin","26":"tag-politics","27":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","28":"tag-religion","29":"tag-tommy-pigott","30":"tag-top-stories","31":"tag-u-s-department-of-state","32":"tag-u-s-news","33":"tag-united-states-government","34":"tag-vatican-city","35":"tag-war-and-unrest","36":"tag-washington-news","37":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116533537179888556","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}